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Georgeland State Governments
Georgeland consists of seven autonomous state governments, each of which operates in a similar, but not identical manner. The key element in the governance in all of Georgeland's states is their adherance to the Westminster System, whereby the elected government is directly responsible to the legislature. Governors Each state has a Governor who is the titular, if not the actual, source of executive power in the state. All state Governors must sign legislation before it becomes a formal law. In Scoita and East Mainland the Governor has an official, constitutional power to veto legislation - in Scoita this has happened several times, but never in East Mainland. The remaining Governors do not have any official power to veto bills, but could easily do so by merely refusing to sign them. This has happened a handful of times in Georgeland's history. Most state Governors are directly elected. In East Mainland, Capitalia, Long Island and Bradmarch, Governors are now elected using a instant runoff voting system, meaning a majority of votes is needed to win and not a plurality. Since the adoption of this voting system, East Mainland and Long Island are the only states to have actually held an election - there will be no Gubernatorial elections in Bradmarch and Capitalia until 2008 and 2009 respectively. The Governor of Scoita is elected by a first-past-the-post system, and there is no indication this will change in the immediate future. The Governors of West Mainland and Delmago Island are appointed by a majority of the state legislature. This has always been the case in Delmago Island; West Mainland chose to amend their constitution to provide for this in 2006. Prior to this, the West Mainland Governor had been directly-elected through a first-past-the-post system, as had the Governor of Mainland before that state subdivided in 2000. Legislatures Each of Georgeland's states has a unicameral legislature. In all states except for Capitalia, this legislature is simply referred to as "the state legislature"; in Capitalia it is formally called the House of Assembly. In the past, all state legislatures were elected from single-member districts by a first-past-the-post system. A series of reforms, encouraged by the federal government, have altered this system somewhat. The state legislatures of Bradmarch, Capitalia and Long Island are now elected by a Mixed-Member Proportional system, with some members chosen from districts and some by a party list. The voters of West Mainland rejected a proposal to switch to the same system in 2006. The government of Delmago Island has refused to change to any new voting system unless there is widespread community support, while the Scoitan government has consistently stated it will not change its voting system. The East Mainland government announced in early 2007 that its next election, due in 2010, would be held under an MMP system as well. All state legislatures are unicameral. The only state ever to have an Upper House was Scoita, which abolished its appointed upper chamber in 1943. The voters of Mainland rejected the creation of an upper house in 1985; Mainland was the only state ever to hold such a referendum. Chief Ministers Main Article: Chief Minister (Georgeland) Category:Organizations